Adjustable optical diaphragms and optical shutters are known in the art, and make use of mechanical components that open and close to change the amount of light allowed to pass from an input side to an output side. A tunable iris and shutter has also been shown in which a liquid crystal (LC) cell is used between two polarizers. While the tunable shutter is a rather straightforward solution (where one LC cell with two uniform electrodes is positioned between two cross oriented polarizers), the tunable iris was a similar solution but with one of electrodes being of hole patterned form. In addition, certain electrowetting liquid lenses have been used in the past to form tunable light shutters. However, each of these techniques has drawbacks such as a high loss of light (due to the use of two polarizers), and a lack of ability to do intensity modulation with high contrast or to provide variable iris operation.